Land's End - tried to place an order online, but kept getting hung up. So I called. NOt only are they pleasant, friendly, etc. I only had to wait a minute or so, and my whole order was completed in less than 5. I also like that, since the items I wanted are on sale, they ask if there is an alternate color if the one you want turns out NOT to be available, since they only have a few left.

About 5 months ago I had to have my two back tires replaced after one of them got a nice chunk taken out of it. When I got the new tires I paid extra for some warranty thing (it was a minimal cost). Well I went out to my car yesterday to find I'd gotten a nail stuck in one of my back tires. So I changed the tire and went to Discount Tire when they opened today. I was hoping they'd give me a discount at least or something.

As soon as I pulled up someone was coming outside to greet me, he remembered me from last time and asked what the trouble was. We went inside, he told me to give him 20 minutes. 15 minutes later another guy came out and told me "Ok, I put on a new tire on where that one was, here's a coupon for a tire rotation and alignment, so sorry you had to deal with this, anything else you need", so I asked what I had to pay and he just stared at me for a moment and said "Nothing, you just bought the tires from us".

I was impressed how friendly they were the first time I was there, but this time was great. Other tire shops always fought with me when I bought the warranty. Oh no that's only good on the third Thursday of the fourth month so long as Jupiter is in Scorpio, or some other such nonsense. But Discount didn't even fight me! I did have my paperwork, but it was super cool they remembered me to begin with. Their shop is also very nice and clean and no one called me "sweetie".

About 5 months ago I had to have my two back tires replaced after one of them got a nice chunk taken out of it. When I got the new tires I paid extra for some warranty thing (it was a minimal cost). Well I went out to my car yesterday to find I'd gotten a nail stuck in one of my back tires. So I changed the tire and went to Discount Tire when they opened today. I was hoping they'd give me a discount at least or something.

As soon as I pulled up someone was coming outside to greet me, he remembered me from last time and asked what the trouble was. We went inside, he told me to give him 20 minutes. 15 minutes later another guy came out and told me "Ok, I put on a new tire on where that one was, here's a coupon for a tire rotation and alignment, so sorry you had to deal with this, anything else you need", so I asked what I had to pay and he just stared at me for a moment and said "Nothing, you just bought the tires from us".

I was impressed how friendly they were the first time I was there, but this time was great. Other tire shops always fought with me when I bought the warranty. Oh no that's only good on the third Thursday of the fourth month so long as Jupiter is in Scorpio, or some other such nonsense. But Discount didn't even fight me! I did have my paperwork, but it was super cool they remembered me to begin with. Their shop is also very nice and clean and no one called me "sweetie".

We only use Discount Tire because they are great about honoring their warranty. About four years ago DH ran over a 2x4 in the road (traveling on a major highway during rush hour, couldn't avoid it) and bent his rim and ruined the tire. They were great about helping us find a replacement rim for a price we could afford and that is the only thing we were billed for, the tire replacement was free. And I just found out they have a layaway program, I have some bald tires that need to be replaced and our budget is super tight. So it's nice to know that I can go put the tires on layaway and not break my budget.

My IT department got very jealous when I convinced the project I'm on to buy the Bag of Holding as my laptop bag. I was having a heck of a time finding one I liked that would actually hold a laptop and tablet and power cords and accessories well. When I have to give back the bag, I'm buying one myself!!

My favorite tire store is a local shop. I had some tires wear out after what seemed to be far too short a time, and they agreed, put new tires on my car, and sent the old ones back to the manufacturer to see how much towards the replacements they'd give me. I drove on those new tires for 4 months before we heard back, and only THEN did I have to pay the remaining balance on the new tires. Seriously - 4 months before I paid a penny.

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What part of v_e = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{r}} don't you understand? It's only rocket science!

"The problem with re-examining your brilliant ideas is that more often than not, you discover they are the intellectual equivalent of saying, 'Hold my beer and watch this!'" - Cindy Couture

We adopted QuietDog last week and she decided to divebomb into some souveniers left by other animals in our yard. I found a DIY dog wash and figured I'd give it a shot, even though it is not in my usual shopping areas. When we walked in, the employees showed me how to use everything and made sure I knew that there are no time limits and I can use any of the products I want. The products are high quality and the place was neat and clean. The prices were pretty reasonable too...$12 to $22, depending on the size of the dog. They will also do it for you for an additional cost.

As I was drying QuietDog, the employees asked questions about her and I mentioned that we had just adopted her. With that, they announced this wash was free and we walked out with a bag full of free samples and toys. Their products smelled great, I walked out feeling like they genuinely cared about my dog and it was so much better than trying to bathe QuietDog in my shower. Even though it is out of my comfort zone, I will be going back whenever I want QD to be bathed.

The Petco by me. I've had back luck with the chain in the past, but I went in there today and this location has redeemed the entire chain.

It got to 100F today. The house doesn't have a/c. The dogs were unbearably hot. I figured I go window shopping at a pet store, and the only one reasonably close is Petco. Meh, but desperate times call for desperate measures. A friend too Lucy elsewhere. So, I go in there and start looking at toys. Baxter plops himself down on the cold tile and promptly starts snoring. One of the staff approached me and asked if she could pet him. I said yes, and we got to chatting. I explained why I was there. She gave him a few treats the grabbed a chair for me and a bowl of water for Baxter and told me to stay as long as I wanted, and to come back tomorrow (it's predicted to get to 104F) if I needed to.

I'm seriously impressed at how willing they were to do whatever they could to keep the animals safe in the heat.

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Some people lift weights. I lift measures. It's a far more esoteric workout. - (Quoted from a personal friend)

DH is gluten free and dining out has been a challenge. His birthday is this week and I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He asked for a cheesecake. I found out that the Cheesecake Factory's Godiva chocolate cheesecake uses a flourless chocolate cake for the crust, so it fits the bill.

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ďAll that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."-J.R.R Tolkien

DH is gluten free and dining out has been a challenge. His birthday is this week and I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He asked for a cheesecake. I found out that the Cheesecake Factory's Godiva chocolate cheesecake uses a flourless chocolate cake for the crust, so it fits the bill.

That is such good information! I have a cousin who is also gluten free and this is so going to make her June birthday!

When DH and I lived in West Virginia, the only place I could get supplies for my OneTouch was in Winchester, Virginia (about 30 miles away) at a small pharmacy. At the time, they charged $75.00 for the box of 50 test strips. Twice what other places charged, but I would have had to drive to either Northern Virginia or Maryland to get them. They also seemed to run out of them quickly.

I called the OneTouch customer service line to see if I could buy them by mail. At the time that wasn't an option so I explained the situation. Pharmacy was highly priced and out of stock and I only had about three-days worth of strips left.

CSR was shocked. She told me the pharmacy wasn't supposed to charge that much (as OneTouch set the prices). She took down my address and sent me 6 boxes of strips at no charge. I was told that the pharmacy was going to be reprimanded for price gouging and I could call the customer service line when my supply got low. The would give them to me free as long as pharmacy was the only provider. Other places started carrying them about two months later.

I plugged my Kindle in using my wall charger last night. I got home and it wasn't charged, although there was some current because the light on the charger was on and the Kindle showed an orange light.

It wouldn't turn on, it wouldn't turn off, it wouldn't reset. I pulled out my USB charger - no dice. So I called Kindle Support. Jamie asked me to try reseting it again, both disconnected and connected to the computer. Still wouldn't work. She asked me to leave it plugged into the computer and she'd call me back in 30 minutes. About 5 minutes after hanging up with her, on it came.

Jamie called back as promised; I let her know that it seemed to be working and perhaps it was my charger that was no longer working. She credited my account so I can buy a new charger! Probably enough that I can get a new charger and a new cover, if they still make them for my old Kindle - it's one of the ones that has a keyboard.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

Alamo Car Rental. I reserved online at a good rate, did the online check in, so I can walk to the cars, pick the one I want and drive it to the booth, hand over the check in confirmation, my driver's license and credit card. I was charged exactly what I was quoted.

Full size cars, they had Hyundai Sonata, Chevrolet Impala, VW Jetta, Ford Fusion and one Chrysler. We picked a 2014 Chevrolet Impala and it is a great car.

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ďAll that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."-J.R.R Tolkien

Redpath's shoe store, here in Canberra. I bought a pair of black and white Diesel high-top sneakers there in April, wore them (not all the time, but a fair amount) for four months... and last week discovered that they were different sizes. The left one was U.S. size 9, European size 42, and Japanese size 27, while the right one was U.S. size 9 but European size 40 and Japanese size 26. I hadn't noticed anything odd the whole time, but once I knew they were different sizes I couldn't stop noticing it!

I really didn't think they could/would do much for me, because I mean, four months worth of slight but visible wear on them. And I'd bought them on sale, so I figured they might not have that style any more. Still, I called and they told me to bring them in. Turns out they were out of that colour but not that style, and I now have a brand new pair of pink and white high-tops that are both European size 40. I would have been perfectly happy with something like a discount on my next pair of shoes but the manager was very matter-of-fact about saying it was their mistake. Annnnnd they had a sale on boots, and I found a pair in a style I had years ago and loved, so now I have new boots as well.